Putin Pulls Russia Out of Nuclear Pact That Trump Abandoned

(Bloomberg) -- President Vladimir Putin pulled Russia out of a Cold War-era nuclear pact that's already been abandoned by the U.S., ending more than three decades of agreement on banning short- and medium-range missiles.

Putin signed a law to suspend the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, according to a statement Wednesday on the lower house of parliament's website. U.S. President Donald Trump announced in February that he's pulling out of the landmark treaty, which bans deployment of ground-launched missiles with ranges between 500 kilometers (311 miles) and 5,500 kilometers, after he accused Russia of violating the pact, something Moscow denies.

The U.S. and Russia are at loggerheads over nuclear weapons as the clock ticks down on the sole remaining accord between the two powers, the New START treaty that restricts the size of their atomic arsenals and expires in February 2021. Putin said he and Trump agreed during their meeting at the Group of 20 summit in Japan last week to order talks on the issue between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. Putin cautioned, however, that “I do not know yet if those consultations will lead to the extension of the New START treaty.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Halpin in moscow at thalpin5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin, Alexei Anishchuk

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